Tubular concrete girder construction



March 8, 1966 N; ESQUILLAN 3,239,186

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheetl March 8, 1966 N. ESQUILLAN 3,239,186

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet2 March 8, 1966 N ESQUILLAN 3,239,136

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet5 Fad 6 March 8, 1966 NQES UILLAN 3,239,186

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet4 INVENTOR.

NICOLAS ESQUILLAN lTTORN EY March 8, 1966 Filed March 11, 1964 FIG. IO

N. ESQUILLAN 3,239,186

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. u 0

56 z 1% INVENTOR.

56 50 NICOLAS ESQUILLAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,239,186 TUBULARCONCRETE GIRDER CGNSTRUCTION Nicolas Esquillan, Paris, France, assiguorto Safege- Transport, Socit Anonyme, Paris, France Filed Mar. 11, 1964,Ser. No. 351,071 (Ilaims priority, application France, Mar. 12, 1963,927,652, Patent 1,359,236 8 Claims. (Cl. 249-452) This invention relatesto the casting of tubular concrete girders of rectilinear or curvedshape, and particularly to such girders which are suitable for thesupport of the tracks of suspension railways of the type described inPatent No. 2,825,291 and in my prior application Ser. No. 303,531 for anOverhead Railway superstructure Construction, filed August 21, l963.

The girders constituting the tracks of the suspension railway aregenerally in the form of a tube with a square or rectangular section,and are provided with a central longitudinal bottom slot through whichthe suspension passes from the bogies to the cars.

In order to speed up the erection of the tracks, the girders are made insections of great length which are placed on their supports andassembled-end to end. Generally, the distance between two supports willbe about 30 m.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a method and meansfor the economic manufacture of such concrete girders.

Another object of the invention is to provide casting equipment suitablefor the forming of the curved as well as of the straight sections of thetubular girders.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a consideration ofthe specification and claims.

In accordance with the invention, the assembly for molding the tubulargirders is constituted by successive articulated elements, each of whichcomprises a base which carries the inner and the outer molds, wherebythe inner mold may be collapsible and the articulated elements can bearranged in any predetermined positions.

The articulations connecting the successive elements are guided incurved grooves in which their positions can be fixed. In this way, thestring of successive articulated elements can be given, by pivotalmovement of the elements with respect to each other, any polygonal formwhich approaches the desired curve, and the straight as well as thecurved girder sections can be made by means of a single mold assembly.

The cast girder can be removed from the molds either longitudinally bymeans of hoisting gear associated with the articulated elements of themold assembly, or a stationary hoisting gear may slide out the girder intrans verse direction.

The invention will be described more in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the articulated sectionsconstituting the mold assembly of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of one of the molding sections on an enlargedscale;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a section;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view similar to FIG. 2, showing thestripping of the mold;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the removal of the cast girder;

Patented Mar. 8, 1966 "ice FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar toFIG. 2showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows on an enlarged scale the section of FIG. 6 in the moldingphase, and

FIG. 8 shows the cast girder of FIG. 7 with collapsed inner mold.

FIGURE 9 is an isometric view of a preferred form of the castingapparatus embodying the invention;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIGURES 1 and 9;and

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 in FIGURE 10.

The operation of the mold assembly will now be described, by way ofexample, for the casting of a section of great length of a tubulargirder of the type intended to receive the track of a suspended railway,whereby said section may be straight or curved, as desired.

For this purpose, the mold assembly of the girder comprises successiveelements 11, 12, 20. For example, if the girder section should be m.long, I may use ten articulated elements of 3 in. length each. Thesefigures are given, of course, only by way of example; the sections maybe longer or shorter, and the mold assembly may comprise a greater orsmaller number of articulated elements.

Each element 11 20 comprises a base which is movable in the working areawhereby the position of said base is determined by gliding the linkingmeans 21 29 in grooves 31 39 provided in the working area and fixingsaid linking means in the desired position.

In this way, a polygonal formwork is established along the curve to berealized, and said curve can be closely approached by a polygon having asufficient number of sides. The grooves 31 39 are arcs of non-concentriccircles the centers of which lie on the longitudinal axis of the baseelement 11 which is supposed to be stationary.

When the jointed formwork has thus been set up, the assembly of thepolygonal elements constituting the girder is cast in a singleoperation. The assembly forming a section of a straight or curved girderis then removed as a unit, longitudinally or transversally.

For longitudinal removal, the stripped girder is sus pended at ahoisting device which permits its displacement in the direction of thecurvilinear axis of the girder. In such embodiment of the invention,each platform of the base plate elements 11 to 20 carries securedthereto a frame supporting a longitudinally displaceable hoistingdevice. Each platform is associated with a section 41, 42 49 of themonorail whereby said sections are connected by links disposedvertically above the links 21 29.

The cast girder sections suspended from the jointed sections of themonorail are stripped from the mold by first giving them a slightvertical movement and then displacing them along the longitudinal axis.An element 12 of the mold assembly is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2and 3. It comprises a platform 51) which can glide on the constructionsite 51. At its ends, the platform 51) is provided with couplings 21 and22. Each of said couplings comprises a pivot 52 mounted in a support 53equipped with rollers 54 rolling on a track 55 in the bottom of thegroove 31 (or 32).

The molds proper for the tubular girder A are mounted as movableelements 56, 57 on the platform 50. Said elements are hollow for theadmission of a heating fluid. In the illustrated example, a frame 59carrying the rail 42 of the monorail is secured to the platform 50.

The inner mold assembly for the girder A comprises a core member 60 oftrapezoidal cross section, as shown in FIGURES 2, 4 and 10, secured tothe platform 50, and two slidable core pieces 61 are symmetricallyattached by suitable means to the member 60. The bottom of the mold isformed by sections 62 disposed on either side of the core member 60.Said sections 62 may be arranged for being vibrated for compacting theconcrete during the molding operation.

When the mold assembly has been placed in the position of FIG. 2, thereinforcements will be inserted and the concrete will be poured. Afterpouring, the concrete may be heated by passing a heating fluid,especially'steam, into the hollow elements 56, 57.

When the girder A has assumed suflicient consistency, it is withdrawnfrom the mold assembly. For this purpose, the mold elements 57 areturned down by turning them around hinge 58. The girder is attached tothe monorail and slightly raised, which loosens it from the sections 62and the mold 56, whereby the separation from the elements 56 isfacilitated by a suitable window. At the same time, the core pieces 61,which rest on the trapezoidal core member 60, disengage the inner walls,of the girder A by remaining in contact with member 60. The girder isthen in the position shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIGURE 10, a suitable known type of device is provided forraising girder A. One device is provided for each member 11-20. Eachdevice has a trolly 100 with wheels 102 which run on opposite sides ofthe lower flanges of rails 41-49. The trolly is coupled to itscorresponding segment of the cast girder A by members 104 securedthereto and by a lazy-tongs system 106 operated by motor 108 to effectthe desired raising motion of the lifting devices.

Subsequently, it is easy to withdraw the girder from the mold by alongitudinal movement of the monorail.

Outside the mold, the girder can be taken up by one or more dollies 63(FIG. which roll on rollers 64 on a track 65. Lateral wheels 66 areprovided to stabilize the truck 63.

FIGS. 6-8 disclose the withdrawal of the girder A by shifting it in thetransverse direction. For this purpose, a hoist or fixed lift, e.g. agantry 70 is used which is sufliciently wide to provide lateral spacessuitable to receive the cast girder A. Also in this modification, themold assembly comprises a platform 50 and hollow elements 56, 57 for theadmissions of a heating fluid. The inner mold assembly, however, iscomposed of umbrellalike collapsible elements.

In each unit of the molding assembly, the inner mold is composed ofmobile plates, which are hinged one or more central rods 71. In theillustrated example, two suitably shaped elements 73, corresponding tothe top of the girder are pivotally secured at 72 to a central rod 71.The elements 73 are attached at 74 to connecting rods 75 which areattached at 76 to the central rod 71 for vertical displacementtherealong. Side mold sections 77 are linked at 78, 79 to connectingrods 80, 81 which in turn are mounted for pivotal movement on thecentral rod 71.

For casting a girder A, the outer mold assembly 56, 57 is placed inposition and the inner mold assembly 73, 77 (FIG. 7) is unfolded. Thenthe mold is filled with concrete, and after the concrete has set, theinner mold assembly 73, '77 is folded by sliding the connecting rods 75,80, 81 downwardly along rod 71. After the inner mold assembly hascollapsed, it can pass through the slot of the girder A, and the lattercan be immediately withdrawn, either longitudinally as describedhereinabove, or transversally by raising it to the position A (FIG. 6)by means of the gantry 70 and shifting to position A on a suitable dolly84. The latter kind of removal is particularly suitable for girders Awhich are made with inner ribs.

I claim:

1. A mold assembly for casting elongated tubular concrete girderscomprising a string of complementary mold supporting members, meanscoupling said members for angular displacement with respect to eachother in a horizontal plane into position for casting an elongatedcontinuous girder, each of said members comprising a platform, outermolds, and inner retractable molds, and means mounting said members forselected movement from straight line arrangement wherein all of saidmolds are arranged for casting complementary segments to form anintegral straight elongated tubular girder, or for positioning saidmembers in said angular position wherein said members are arranged forcasting the complementary segments of an integral elongated curvedtubular girder.

2. A mold assembly for casting tubular concrete girders comprising astring of mold supporting members, means coupling said members forangular displacement with respect to each other in a horizontal plane,each of said members comprising a platform, outer molds, and innerretractable molds, and a foundation and curved concentric tracks on saidfoundation for guiding said coupling means in circles around the firstmember of said string of mold supporting members.

3. A girder molding apparatus comprising a plurality of mold supportingmembers, each of said members including a platform and a tubular moldunit carried thereby, each of said units having means for forming anintegral part of a common elongated tubular girder, and means joiningsaid members in closely positioned end to end relationship for selectivemovement from axially aligned straight line relationship into a desiredcurvilinear axially aligned relationship whereby an elongated tubulargirder of desired shape and length can be cast in said units of saidmembers.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein said mold units comprisingsaid apparatus are similar in construction, and wherein each unitcomprises a plurality of relatively movable core pieces, a plurality ofouter elements spaced from and coacting with said core pieces, and meanssupporting said core pieces and said elements of said units in coactingspaced positions on said platforms for molding said tubular girder ofdesired length and shape.

5. The invention defined in claim 4 wherein said outer elements of saidmold units comprise lower and upper components having inner faces shapedto conform with the outer contours of the tubular girder formed in saidmold units, and means pivotally mounting said upper component of eachmold unit on said lower component thereof to provide clearance for theremoval of a cast girder from said mold units.

6. The invention defined in claim 3, movable means for each of saidplatforms, a foundation, curved support surfaces on said foundation forsaid movable means for guiding said movable means in arcs of concentriccircles relative to the first of said mold supporting members, wherebysaid plurality of mold units of said supporting members can be disposedin a selected aligned relationsgip for forming an elongated tubulargirder of desired s ape.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein each of said mold unitscomprises at least one inner movable core piece, and a plurality ofouter forming elements, and means supporting said core pieces and saidelements of said units in coacting operative relationship on saidplatfohrms for forming a tubular girder of desired length and s ape.

8. A molding apparatus comprising a plurality of mold supportingmembers, means coupling said members together to form an articulatedsystem, each of said members including a platform and a mold unitcarried thereby, each of said mold units comprising mold means forforming an integral section of the same tubular girder, means fordisposing said members in a predetermined linear or curvilineararrangement for casting of an elongated girder of predetermined shape,corresponding to the arrangement of said members, said mold means ofeach of said units comprising inner mold elements and outer moldelements spaced therefrom, said inner mold elements comprising a centralstern and umbrella-like collapsible connecting rods carrying the moldportions defining the inner wall of said girder, means for maintainingsaid inner mold elements in operative relationship relative to saidouter mold elements during the casting of a girder, and means forcollapsing said inner mold elements for removal of a completed girderfrom between said inner and outer elements.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 987,319 3/1911Potter 249159 1,700,889 2/1929 Heltzel 25l 18 1,721,514 7/ 1929 Henry2512l 1,976,627 10/1934 ORourke 25-121 2,318,692 5/1943 Johnson 251312,602,210 7/ 1952 Rumble 25131 10 2,892,339 6/ 1959 Flowers et a1. 25121J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON,

Examiners.

3. A GIRDER MOLDING APPARATUS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF MOLD SUPPORTINGMEMBERS, EACH OF SAID MEMBERS INCLUDING A PLATFORM AND A TUBULAR MOLDUNIT CARRIED THEREBY, EACH OF SAID UNITS HAVING MEANS FOR FORMING ANINTEGRAL PART OF A COMMON ELONGATED TUBULAR GIRDER, AND MEANS JOININGSAID MEMBERS IN CLOSELY POSITIONED END TO END RELATIONSHIP FOR SELECTIVEMOVEMENT FROM AXIALLY ALIGNED STRAIGHT LINE RELATIONSHIP INTO A DESIREDCURVILINEAR AXIALLY ALIGNED RELATIONSHIP WHEREBY AN ELONGATED TUBULARGIRDER OF DESIRED SHAPE AND LENGTH CAN BE CAST IN SAID UNITS OF SAIDMEMBERS.